The Wasp's Nest Piñata

By Bonnie Ditlevsen
$1.99 Rating: Not yet rated.
Published: June 14, 2011
Words: 24153 (approximate)
Language: English

Ebook short description

After the American man she has her sights set on is found brutally murdered in a coastal town in Costa Rica, Sharon Donnelly determines to find his killer. But the community where she volunteers soon reveals itself to be full of gossip, corruption, and intrigue. Only Mariluz, a local prostitute who knows both the gringo and Tico worlds, can shed some light on the man's death.

Extended description

Have you ever wanted to see what life is like on the tropical beaches of Central America?

Sharon Donnelly, single and newly jobless, travels to coastal Costa Rica to make a change. But when Bob, the American expat she's fallen for, is found with a machete-slashed throat just outside their dusty little town, Sharon can think of nothing else but to find out who murdered him, and why.

In this first novel-length work by longtime expatriate and travel writer Bonnie Ditlevsen, we see small-town Costa Rica through gringo eyes and learn how an unlikely alliance could spell danger for the unwitting gringa sleuth.

Ditlevsen's story explores the psychology of northerners seeking a life in what they imagine to be a Central American tropical paradise, ignorant of the way locals perceive and interact with them, and unaware of the violent consequences that can occur when a rural small-town community bands together. The Wasp's Nest Piñata is a modern-day story exploring gender relations, the r... (Read more) Have you ever wanted to see what life is like on the tropical beaches of Central America?

Sharon Donnelly, single and newly jobless, travels to coastal Costa Rica to make a change. But when Bob, the American expat she's fallen for, is found with a machete-slashed throat just outside their dusty little town, Sharon can think of nothing else but to find out who murdered him, and why.

In this first novel-length work by longtime expatriate and travel writer Bonnie Ditlevsen, we see small-town Costa Rica through gringo eyes and learn how an unlikely alliance could spell danger for the unwitting gringa sleuth.

Ditlevsen's story explores the psychology of northerners seeking a life in what they imagine to be a Central American tropical paradise, ignorant of the way locals perceive and interact with them, and unaware of the violent consequences that can occur when a rural small-town community bands together. The Wasp's Nest Piñata is a modern-day story exploring gender relations, the reality of police corruption, and the hard truth of sex tourism as a regular means of economic survival for some, and sport for others.

Expatriate murders in Costa Rica are on the rise. This mystery, though fictional, reflects a worrisome modern statistic, one frequently dismissed and downplayed by the media in a country with no standing army and an increasing reliance on North American and European tourist dollars. Though prostitution is legal, how far will some people go in order to get ahead? And what will a local community do in retaliation when a certain line is crossed?
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Tags

thriller, murder mystery, vigilanteism, vigilante, amateur sleuth, thriller suspense, prostitution, hookers, costa rica, expatriate living, beach books, beach reads, coastal travel, gringo, sex tourism, ecotourism, gender and power, coastal town, backpackers, vigilantes, coastal stories, tico, volunteering, beach fiction, vigilante justice, beach mystery, expat fiction, volunteer work, drug trafficking, beach resorts, beachside murder, costa rica murder mystery, guanacaste, expats in costa rica, stories set in costa rica, central american murder mystery, expat murder, moving to costa rica, retiring in costa rica, mystery novel costa rica, expat literature, volunteer in central america, latin american feminism

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